Distracting e-books, Teacher Eval screw-up, lying "truth-o-meters"

Three articles published in the last couple days

“Find Your Book Interrupted… By the Tablet You Read it On” by Julie Bosman and Matt Richtel NYT 3.5.12

Teaser: “People who read e-books on tablets like the iPad are realizing that while a book in print or on a black-and-white Kindle is straightforward and immersive, a tablet offers a menu of distractions that can fragment the reading experience, or stop it in its tracks.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/business/media/e-books-on-tablets-fight-digital-distractions.html

“Hard-Working Teachers, Sabotaged When Student Test Scores Slip” by Michael Winerip (NYT in the “on Eduction” column) 3.5.12

This is about some unintended consequences involved with NY’s “value added” teacher evaluation system. Four teachers who seem to be doing a great job are all shown – by the test, at least – to have taken AWAY value from students. Learn about how “numbers lie” here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/nyregion/in-brooklyn-hard-working-teachers-sabotaged-when-student-test-scores-slip.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=hard-working%20teachers&st=cse

“True Lies: Media umpires confront the challenge of dishonest facts” by Eric Zorn Tribune 3.2.12

Interesting for all, but especially for rhetoric, AP Lang, expos… This article comments on the group of new “fact-checking” websites run by various media outlets. Things like Truth-O-Meter and PolitiFact and the Washington Posts “Pinocchio” awards (the cleverest of the bunch). Are these meters too dumbed-down?

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2012/03/truelies.html

iPad and Education

From ASCD yesterday:

Could the iPad become a valuable tool to improve student learning?
Envision Schools founder Bob Lenz, fresh from a conference on innovation and technology in education, considers in this blog post the role the iPad and other new technology will play in the future of student learning. Lenz sees the iPad -- in perhaps its next generation -- as a low-cost way to expand student access to books, research and other media and envisions a time when teachers may create apps instead of paper handouts or assignments posted on the Web. Edutopia.org/Bob Lenz's blog (6/9)